In an attempt to curb rising poverty in the city of Saint John, councillors have inked letters addressed to the province and the federal government urging both levels to investigate food security issues around the Port City and to evaluate a livable wage.
Saint John has one of the highest rates of poverty in Canada, according to the 2021 New Brunswick Child Poverty Report Card, and the letters were sent in an effort to lower those figures.
“(I am) requesting that the Government of Canada formally explore ideas to effectively implement a Living Wage in New Brunswick,” Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon said in a letter postmarked to Karina Gould, minister of families, children and social development.
The City of Saint John admits that paying a livable wage can have an impact on small enterprises.
However, considering the amount of people struggling to make ends meet across our province, especially as it relates to housing affordability, now is the time to explore this issue in a wholesome manner and generate viable solutions. The City of Saint John is willing to participate in that initiative as a stakeholder.
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Paula Radwan, a city councillor from City of Saint John, made the observation that “it’s not this straight and dried” and that excluding small firms from the discussion might potentially harm some of the already-struggling businesses.
When it comes to economics, “everything has to be looked at from a micro-level,” stated Radwan.
“As a small business owner, we’d love to pay our staff more than we already do.
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According to Deputy Mayor John MacKenzie of the City of Saint John, the intention is not to harm smaller businesses.
It’s important to address business concerns, Mackenzie added.
“No one desires to drive someone out of business. We want employers to take on more staff. In order to do it, we must cooperate.
The municipality also inked letters to both the province and Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister of health, calling for a sustainable food security solution.
A worrisome issue for many Saint John residents is food insecurity. The letter stated that according to research done by the Human Development Council (2016), local Saint John food banks helped 3000 people on average each month.
“In addition, 1 in 3 people in Saint John in need of a food bank were minors under the age of 18. It is well known that the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects and rising inflation have only made matters worse.
Large food distributors are frequently obliged to throw away excess food that is close to or just past its best-before date, while our foodbanks struggle to keep up with demand.
Saint John requests that the federal government alleviate city poverty
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